It all started with a down river kayak trip for the trio known as Noex. Dan Zaleski (WPI - BSECE '15 and BSRBE ‘15) , Scott Bonney (WIT BELM ’14), and Brandon Dryer (WIT BELM ’14), have gone from college students with an idea to being one of 128 teams in the 2016 MassChallenge. They intend to bring data to a space previously unmeasured: at-home physical therapy.
Dan Zaleski, an avid ultimate Frisbee player, knows the difficulties of physical therapy first hand. Having torn his Ulnar Collateral ligament in his elbow twice, he described the rehab process as “Long, tedious, and painful. I was thrown out of my daily routine and now needed to attend therapy three times a week, perform elbow exercises three times daily, and still keep up with all of my class work. The exercises were painful and it was always tough to know if I was performing them correct.” Despite difficulties, the driven 23-year-old fought through therapy and regained his pre-injury mobility. Dan’s motivation impressed his therapist. She informed him many patients struggle to fully comply with at home routines causing an extended recovery process- sparking a curiosity in Dan.
And so it was on that kayak trip he enlisted the help of his two friends- Scott Bonney and Brandon Dryer, both of whom were no strangers to startups. Each were active participants of the Accelerate program as undergrads at Wentworth, creating and pitching new ventures almost every semester. Dryer, summing up what he garnered from each of them recalls, “Accelerate taught me to always keep moving forward even when things don’t work out as planned. Your first idea is never going to be perfect. It’s the ability to keep pushing forward and iterating that separates those who make it and those who don’t.”
For months since the trip, the team has dedicated multiple nights every week and almost every Sunday reaching out to clinicians, iterating prototypes, and coding. The device, which will be a wearable technology similar in form to a Fitbit, will provide patients immediate feedback on their progress and form during at home therapy. Explains Bonney, “It’s based off three principles – extent of movement, number of repetitions throughout the day, and proper form. This data provides patients with increased awareness on their recovery and the motivation it offers; clinicians are able to provide more effective and specialized care.” Using this data, the team plans to help improve both the patients experience during therapy and the clinician’s ability to provide specialized care for each individual patient.
The Massachusetts natives said getting into MassChallenge was a desire they all had 0ver the past four years but timing or ideas had yet to align, but this-Noex- was a chance they wanted to take with applying.
Throughout the application process the team continued to meet with over 15 clinicians so by the time round 1 judging came to an end, the team had already improved their idea from what they orignally submitted. “While meeting with the clinicians, we discovered a design improvement that would open up our market to all patients undergoing therapy for injuries to their joints. And while this was great news, we only had 5 days until second round judging to pull it all together!" Bonney recounts, "Needless to say, we worked our butts off over those 5 days pulling an all-nighter the night before the pitch and were able to communicate both our technology and Noex’s vision clearly and concisely "
Just because they’ve made it into MassChallenge doesn’t mean the team is taking any time to relax. Dryer says “We are extremely appreciative of this opportunity. We know the medical device field is exceptionally competitive and we need to work even harder going forward.” Still meeting almost nightly and making progress, the three are excitedly awaiting move in to MADE@MassChallenge, the startup-friendly R&D lab, where they will be able to leverage MassChallenge's network of professionals and resources to iterate at a faster pace.
Good Luck Noex!
